I don't have a gun, a trucker hat or any cutoff denim clothing. I refuse to drink PBR, I drive a Japanese car and honestly, motorcycles kind of freak me out. Despite all of this, I thought that to turn down tickets to see Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd on the Fourth of July would be decidedly unpatriotic.
Sandstone was packed... A veritable sea of white folks. I remember reading that a pack of four lawn tickets could be purchased for $100. It was true recession relief. Kid Rock would later thank the crowd for spending their "hard earned money."
I missed Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights, but I was able to slide right into reserved seating right on time to catch Johnny Van Zant, Gary Rossington and the rest of the perpetually rotating cast of musicians that make up the immortal Lynyrd Skynyrd, including, Rickey Medlocke the original drummer from 1970 to 1971, who rejoined the band 25 years later as a guitarist.
He looked like a Southern-fried-hard-rockin' Gollum.
"There's a lot of you here today, God Almighty... How many of you are true Lynyrd Skynyrd fans?" asked Van Zant before they busted into my favorite Skynyrd song, "That Smell." Ooooh ooooh, that smell! The flying words on the video monitors on stage read "That" and "Smell." We smelled it all right... big joints and impending rain. Ooooh ooooh, that smell!
The rest of the short set included the slow dance "Simple Man" (dedicated to the troops) and "Sweet Home Alabama," before which Van Zant let us all know, "There ain't no place like America, we can testify." Before that declaration, he mentioned they were recently in Paris, France, where there was "ya know, all that oui oui shit."
Lynyrd Skynyrd was the first opening band I had ever seen perform an encore. Guess which song it was? The song they end every show with... "Free Bird."
Kid Rock came on stage amidst a flurry of pyrotechnics, flanked on each side of the stage by large lit up bottles of Red Stag, the new black-cherry-infused version of Jim Beam.
I had a hard time figuring out which songs were which at times because Kid Rock (like Lynyrd Skynyrd) would turn one of his songs into a tribute mashup, like the song "Lowlife" that was part Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" and "Summertime in Northern Michigan" which was part "Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon.
The Twisted Brown Trucker Band was on fire too, figuratively. All live, all hard-hitting. "No American Idol shit, American Badass," said Kid Rock. Very homegrown. During "Amen," Hurricane Katrina footage flashed in the background, and while "Lowlife" was on, we saw Kid Rock on the video monitors, smoking a cigar and flashing a peace sign next to a grill full of hamburgers.
He made reference to his Waffle House scuffle, encouraged everyone in the audience to give a high five to someone they didn't already know (no one high fived me) and gave a shoutout to Kansas City and "its surrounding areas."
Contrary to predictions, there was no big storm, and the price of drinks seems to have climbed higher than the last time I was at Sandstone. And though it turned out to be a little chilly for tube tops and cowboy hats, hearts were warmed by the genuine showmanship of Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was the Fourth of July for Christ's sake.
They knew better than to disappoint 'ol Kansas City.
(Photos by Mike Walker)
**Dear blog readers, if you see a hole or mistake in the set list, feel free to leave a comment.
Set list
??
Saturday Night Special
Gimme Back My Bullets
What's Your Name?
That Smell
??
Simple Man
Honky Tonk Night Time Man
Gimme Three Steps
Call Me The Breeze
Sweet Home Alabama
Encore
Free Bird
Kid Rock Set list
Rock n' Roll Jesus
Son of Detroit
??
You Never Met a Motherfucker Quite Like Me
American Badass
Lowlife (Living the Highlife)
Cocky
All Summer Long
Amen
Rock N' Roll Pain Train
??
Welcome to the Party
Cowboy
Only God Knows Why
Wastin' Time
Picture
random tribute song
So Hott
Bawitdaba
Encore
Born in the USA
Showing 1-6 of 6
THE TWO UNKNOW SONGS AT THE SHOW OF SKYNYRD WEWRE OFF THE NEWS CD CALLED SKYNYRD NATION AND STILL UNBROKEN.
Christine, I believe her name was Stacy Michelle, but it sounded like Stacy Bichette when Kid Rock said it.
Does anyone know the name of the woman who sang Picture with Kid Rock at the concert?
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